Curtain heading tape



M. GRIFFITHS A 3,529,634-

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CURTAIN HEADING TAPE Filed Sept. 19. 1968 5 SheetsSheet B Shaffs 5&7

INVENTORS.

azy 6R1 FF/T/IS i fiwwm A True w United States Patent 3,529,634 CURTAIN HEADING TAPE Mary Griffiths, Heywood, and John Sellers, Chorley, England, assignors to Thomas French and Sons Limited, a corporation of Great Britain Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 612,889, Jan. 31, 1967. This application Sept. 19, 1968, Ser. No.

Int. Cl. D03d 35/00 U.S. Cl. 13922 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of weaving a heading tape by incorporating as a stiffening, a synthetic yarn laid supplied a warpwise supply and by drawing it, using a catch inserted yarn, in a weftwise direction, the weftwise laid yarn then becoming located at one edge of the fabric substantially wholly in the warpwise direction.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 612,889 filed Jan. 31, 1967 and entitled Improvements in or Relating to Curtain Heading Tape.

The invention relates to narrow fabrics which term is to be construed as including within its meaning tapes and webs, and in particular curtain heading tapes of the kind incorporating a monofilamentweft to give lateral stiffness and pleating control. An example of a curtain heading tape of the kind aforesaid is the subject of our prior British Pat. No. 919,378.

One of the problems with a curtain heading tape of the kind referred to is the lateral instability of the Weave due to the slippery nature of the monofilament weft whereby any lateral stress applied to the surface of the tape can easily cause the warp yarns to be parted to expose a grid of the monofilament weft picks. Such problem can be reduced by packing the warp yarns closer together but this has other disadvantages such as stiffening the tape longitudinally and increasing the weight and cost of the tape.

Not only does the packing of the warp yarns increase the longitudinal stiffness and cost of the tape but also it makes the tape more difiicult to pleat than is normally acceptable, particularly in the case in which the tape is to be used commercially in the production of custom made or ready to hang curtains.

Whilst it has been possible in some instances to produce an initially laterally stable tape not using synthetic yarn it has been found that the tape will lose its stiffness if it is subjected to washing or cleaning, and thus such tapes have not been generally acceptable.

Attempts have been made to achieve stiffness by the use of relatively Wide tapes in combination with long pronged suspension hooks and whilst pleasing effects can be obtained the disadvantages of such a system of obtaining stilfness are many. For example, long pronged hooks are expensive to produce and thus use, and also they are diflicult to use properly and to obtain pleasing effects they have to be very carefully spaced apart to avoid the possibility of uneven pleating effects occurring.

The overall effect of the disadvantage of using nonstiiiened tape are such therefore that curtain manufacturers and users have avoided the use of such tapes and 3,529,634 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 ice a demand has thus arisen for a laterally stable tape which is easy to use, can be used with short prong hooks and will not be so stiif as to cause jamming of the tape between a suspension rail and a runner or glider.

It is thus the primary object of the present invention to overcome the problems that have existed in a new way, without the disadvantages aforesaid, and without creating new disadvantages, and at the same time to produce a deep pleating effect when the tape is used.

According to the invention there is provided a method of producing a narrow fabric having a monofilament disposed weftwise characterised by the steps of supplying the monofilament from a warpwise direction through means for shedding same, enwrapping the monofilament with a yarn supplied initially in a weftwise direction, drawing the monofilament from the warpwise to the weftwise direction by the said yarn to cause the latter to lie substantially wholly in the warpwise direction, beating up the weftwise disposed monofilament to produce a fabric which is laterally stable and longitudinally flexible, said monofilament being of such a diameter and stiffness to give lateral stability to the weave, and inserting a second weft which is Woven with the monofilament into said tape.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method of producing a narrow fabric includes the step of Weaving the fabric as a two-ply fabric with the monofilament and the said second weft in one ply and a further weft in the other ply. Preferably also, all the warp yarns of the one ply interchange to bind the said monofilament and the second weft firmly in the said one ply. The pocket warp is woven with the third shuttle above the two ply fabric to produce continuous pockets, binding in at intervals with half the ends into the top ply of the two ply tape so as not to obstruct the monofilament weft in the base.

The invention will be apparent from the following description given by way of example only, with reference to the several figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of the curtain heading tape;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the tape shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a cross section through the weft of the repeat pattern between the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner of weaving the curtain heading tape of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 to 8 show diagrammatically the various steps of the shedding of some of the warp yarns and the mannet of drawing the monofilament into the weftwise direction for the lower half of the fabric as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the continuous weft supply means.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 the curtain heading tape consists of a body part 10 on one side of which is superimposed a narrower tape 11 bound to the body part 10 by warps 3 and 4 at intervals 12. The periodic binding of the narrower tape 11 to the body 10 by the warps 3 and 4 serves to form a series of pockets into some of which may be inserted curtain hooks or rings. The tape also has pleating cords 13 and 14 which are symmetrically arranged so that, when drawn, they both induce the same pleating formation in the body of the tape. 4

As can be seen from the warpwise section of the tape shown in FIG. 3, tape is woven using two cotton wefts 15 and 16 and a monofilament weft 17 which is shown in its weftwise disposition but is supplied through a shaft 2 not shown on this figure. The warp yarns for the body and narrower tape 11 and the cords 13, 14, are shed using seven shafts in addition to that for the FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 between the points indicated by Y and Z monofilament.

The shafts for the warp yarns and the cords 13, 14 are arranged as follows:

No. 1 shaft carrying the cords 13 and 14;

Nos. 3 and 4 shafts carrying the warp threads 18 and 19 for the superimposed pocketed tape 11; and

Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 shafts carrying the warp threads 20,

21, 22 and 23 for the body tape 10.

As can be seen from FIG. 3 the warp yarns 18 and 19 are shed to produce a one and one plain weave each for eight picks with the weft 15 and at nine pick intervals are shed so that the weft 16 binds them to the body fabric warp threads 20, 21, 22 and 23. As can be seen in the repeat of pattern in FIG. 3 the warp 18 is shed to be bound by the weft 16 one pick before the warp 19 is shed to be bound by the weft 16. As can also be seen the cords 13 and 14 are shed to lie above the narrower tape 11 for twenty eight picks and to lie below the narrower tape 11 (that is on the opposite side of the narrow fabric) for twelve picks. This shedding can of course be varied as desired so that the cords may for example be shed at twenty pick intervals to lie above and below the tape for equal intervals. In the manufacture of the fabric the narrower tape 11 is woven using the uppermost of three shuttles of the loom. The middle shuttle carries the weft 16 which is used to weave the body warps 20, 21, 22, and 23 and these are shed by the shafts 5, 6, 7 and 8. The manner of shedding of these warp threads can be seen by reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 and it will be seen particularly from these figures that a split shedding system is used; that is at each pick some yarns are in an upper shed position A some in a lower shed position B and some in an intermediate shed position C.

The four figures in question show diagrammatically warp movements for four of the consecutive picks between the lines XXXX of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 5 the outline rectangle 100 represents the position of the shaft nearest the reed, which latter is shown in outline by the broken lines 101. The warp in the upper shed position A is that from shaft 5, that is the warp 20. The warp in the lower shed position B is from shafts 6 and 8, namely warps 22 and 23, and the warp in the middle shed position C is from shaft 7, namely warp 21. As can also be seen the monofilament weft '17 is in the lower shed position B, coming from shaft 2. The shuttle shown is the lowermost shuttle 102 and this shuttle is moving in the direction of arrow 103 carrying with it the catch thread 104 which is wrapped around the monofilament 17. At the end of the travel of the shuttle 102 a loop of monofilament 17 will have been formed and will extend across the width of the shed. Beat up occurs with the reed 101 to cause the loop or double pick to be pushed to the fell of the fabric and the catch thread will now lie substantially in the warp direction despite having been passed through the shed weftwise. At the same time a weft pick '16 from the middle shuttle will have been passed through the intermediate shed between warps 20 and 21.

In FIG. 6 the reed .101 has returned to its rearmost position and the shuttle 102 has passed back across the warp. A shed change has occurred and in this position the warps are arranged as follows:

Lower shed position Bwarps 22 and 23;

Upper shed position Awarp 21;

Middle shed position C-warp 20;

Also in the middle shed position is monofilament 17; and

Additionally the weft 16 has been drawn through the changed shed of warps 20 and 21.

CTl

A further shed change now takes place and the warps are now disposed as shown in FIG. 7 as follows:

Upper shed position Awarp 22; Middle shed position C-warp 23; and Lower shed position Bwarps 20 and 21.

The monofilament 17 is again in the bottom shed position A.

When shuttle 102 returns it has looped around the monofilament 17 due to the change of position of shaft 2 and a loop of this monofilament will be drawn through the shed (as shown in FIG. 8) to be beaten up by the reed 101.

Weft 16 from the middle shuttle passes through the shed between warp 22 and 23 and after heat up the shed changes to bring warp 23 and warp 22 into the reverse positions (as shown in FIG. 8) ready for the next pick of weft .16 to be inserted. Whilst this takes place the shuttle 102 moves across the warp to be wrapped around the monofilament 17 (as shown in FIG. 7) ready for the next pick in which the warps are again in the positions shown in FIG. 5. This cycle repeats continuously to weave the body 10 of the tape and, except for every tenth pick the narrower tape 11 is woven plain weave by the upper shuttle. At the tenth pick one of the warps 18, 19 (say 18) is woven into the body by being shed in the middel shed position B at the next pick the other warp 19, is in the middle shed position B so that the body 10 and the narrow tape 11 are connected together at the positions .12 shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 9, it will be seen that the monofilament passes through a heald in No. 2 shaft from a package 121 mounted on part of the loom frame 122. The monofilament 17 is fed from the package 121 over guide rollers 123, 124, 125 to a pair of friction rolls 126, 127 around which it is wrapped. The roll 126 is mounted on a shaft 128 which is mounted in bearings 129 (one only of which is shown) on the loom frame. At one end region of the shaft 128 is a chain wheel 130 wrapped by a chain 131 which wraps a chain wheel 132 mounted on the output shaft of a reduction gear box 133 driven by a pinion 134 from a pinion 135 on the loom main shaft 136. Also carried by the loom frame is a pivoted compensator arm 137 which has an eye 138 through which the monofilament .17 passes.

When the loom is operating the monofilament 17 is drawn continuously off the package 121 by the continuous rotation of the friction rolls 126, 127, the former being driven from the main shaft 136 through the chain drive and gear box 133. The speed of the drive is such that a loop of monofilament 17 is formed between the rolls 126, 127 and No. 2 shaft and this loop is prevented from entanglement by the compensator arm. When a loop of monofilament 17 is drawn into the fell of the fabric by the catch thread .104, the loop of monofilament is taken up prior to the formation of a subsequent loop which is used on the next drawing in of monofilament.

By virtue of the supply means a relatively still and large diameter monofilament yarn (in one embodiment unconditioned nylon monofilament of 0.018" (diameter)) can be provided from a warp package and thus avoid need for frequent stoppages of the loom which would be entailed if such yarn is supplied from a shuttle.

We claim:

1. A method of weaving a two-ply narrow fabric, including the steps of:

forming successive superimposed sheds, one set of sheds for each fabric ply;

supplying from a stationary supply a continuous weft thread along one edge of the warp;

passing a first weft carrying shuttle through successive sheds of one of said set of sheds to lay weft thread therein;

simultaneously passing a second shuttle through successive sheds of the other of said set of sheds, said second shuttle carrying a catch thread therein; and

controlling said continuous weft so as to be engaged by said catch thread and drawn thereby, as a double pick, into the other of said set of sheds, said catch thread being disposed wholly along the other edge of said warp and parallel therewith.

2. A method according to claim 1 including interchanging all Warp yarns between each of said plies.

3. A method according to claim 1 including providing at least one draw cord and controlling said shedding means to secure said cord to said fabric at intervals, whereby pockets are formed.

4. The method according to claim 1 including forming a loop in said continuous weft to build up a sufficient supply to enable said continuous weft to be formed into a weftwise directed loop in said fabric and taking up said supply by drawing said continuous weft into the shed by means of said catch thread.

5. The method according to claim 4 including shedding the continuous weft thread from a bottom shed position at which said catch thread passes over said continuous weft thread to a middle shed position at which said catch thread passes below said continuous weft thread to enwrap same prior to drawing it into a shed.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein said continuous weft is a monofilarnent.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein said first weft is cotton.

8. Apparatus for producing a narrow fabric having a monofilament disposed weftwise including a drive shaft, a pinion on said drive shaft, a second pinion meshing with said pinion on said drive shaft, a reduction gear driven by said second pinion, an output from said reduction gear driving a first friction roll, a second friction roll pivotally mounted adjacent said first friction roll, and a pivoted compensator, said monofilament passing between said friction rolls and through an eye in said compensator, a shaft for shedding said monofilament from a bottom shed position to a middle shed position, and further shafts for warp yarns, means for shedding said further shafts to interchange the warp yarns, a first weft shuttle for weaving weft with said warp yarns, a second weft shuttle for weaving weft with said warp yarns, and a shuttle for drawing a catch thread, enwrapped with said monofilament, between said warp yarns to produce a two-ply fabric having said monofilament disposed weftwise.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including a shaft for shedding at least one draw cord to be woven into said fabric whereby said fabric can be used as a pleating fabric.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,585,759 2/1952 French et al. 139-387 3,249,126 5/1966 Gerlach et a1 139-384 3,308,855 3/1967 Power et a1 139116 FOREIGN PATENTS 567,836 3/ 1945 Great Britain. 967,967 8/1964 Great Britain.

HENRY S. JAUDON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 139116, 122 

